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UNITED, STATES PATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE H. REAY, OF NEV YORK, N. Y.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 41,395, dated January 26, 1564.

fo @ZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE I1. REAY, of the city, county, and State of New York, have invented a new and Improved Apparatus for Feeding Papers to Envelope Machines. tc.; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full,clear,and exact description of the saine, reference being had to the accompanying drawA ings, making a part of this specification, in which- Figure 1 represents a plan or top View of my invent-ion. Fig. 2 is a transverse vertical section 'of the same, taken in the plane indicated by the line x x, Fig. 1.

Simllar letters of reference in both views indicate corresponding parts.

This invention consists in the employment or use of a hook or finger, in combination with the ordinary lifters or pickers of an envelope-machine, or with any other equivalent device serving to raise or deliver the blanks or sheets of paper in such a manner that by the action of said hook or finger that portion of the sheet or sheets between or close by the lifters or pickers is slightly turned down as soon as the pickers ascend, and any sheet or sheets adhering to that sheet which is in contact with the pickers are separated, andthefeeding of the blanks or sheets, one at a time, is regularly carried on,thus avoiding the waste caused by the adhesion of the blanks toeach other and the consequent simultaneous introduction of two or more sheets to the folding mechanism. v

To enable those skilled in the art to make and use my invention, I will proceed to describe it.

A represents the table or platform which supports the blanks or sheets to be fed to the folding mechanism. Each sheet or blank is intended to be raised or taken 0E from the pile by the action of the pickers or lifters B, and t-o be delivered to the folding mechanism; and in order to avoid waste it is indispensable to deliver one sheet or blank at a time, and not more,to each folding mechanism. In order to effect this purpose, and to separate the sheets or blanks in case two or moreshould adhere together and be raised up by the pickers simultaneously, I employ a hook or finger, C, which is rigidly secured to the table and extends over that portion of the sheets or blanks which is situated between the pickers.

As the pickers rise,the sheet of paper or blank adhering lo them is brought in contact with the hook or finger, and its edge is slightly bent down, and said sheet is thereby separated from such other sheet or sheets as may stick to it.

It is obvious that the nature or construction of the pickers is immaterial, provided they are so arranged that they ret-ain the sheets or blanks firmly enough to prevent them from dropping oli' by lthe action of the hook or finger.

This invention is particularly intended for envelope-machinery where the blanks are raised by means of pickers; but it may be apv plied to advantage with all machines which are provided with an automatic paper-feeder.

Vhat I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, s-

The employment of the hook C, or its equivalent, in combination with the pickers B, or their equivalents, substantially as and for the purpose shown and described.

GEO. H. REAY.

Vtfitnesses:

D. ROBERTSON, THos. S. J. DoUGLAs. 

